The life of Sir James MacDonald of Knockrinsay

Abstract

Sir James MacDonald of Knockrinsay is best known for his leadership of the ‘Islay Rising’ of 1615. Various strands of evidence are here brought together to reveal an individual of significance, controversy, and complexity. Sir James lived in relative comfort with King James VI at Edinburgh and London, but for eleven years he was imprisoned in the dungeon of Edinburgh Castle until he made his daring escape in 1615. Although possessed of a natural charisma, Sir James was not the most adept political operator, and his family life was always turbulent. His career is here set against a wider backdrop of upheaval and transition in the Highlands, as many clans struggled for survival. The ultimate failure of the ‘Islay Rising’ and Sir James's exile in the Spanish Netherlands can be seen as a symbolic end of an era for the clans of the West Highlands and Islands of Scotland.